


Just another life's story

by Tib4rn



Category: Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-19
Updated: 2012-09-18
Packaged: 2017-11-14 13:48:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/515862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tib4rn/pseuds/Tib4rn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is the story of Rayanne, a she-hawk from Phoenicis. How much more obvious could I get... Luv smut blahblah with Tibarn.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Story beginning

**Author's Note:**

> I spent a lot of time on this, it took many tries to get it right, and I really like this one.  
> Please be kind if you decide to review :)

Raygo laughed and ran after his sister, the rain falling heavily all around them. Rayanne giggled louder as the boy started to catch up to her, tightening her grip on Zelgius’ little hand. The three children ran faster, up the hill to the huge rock they lived under. Serena was under it already, waiting for them, smiling as she saw them running towards her. They were out of breath upon reaching her, threw themselves in her arms, and laughed louder, panting. Rayanne squeezed Zelgius between Raygo and herself, Serena wrapped her white wings around them, kissed their little heads. The screams started to rise behind them, slowly engulfing them. Rayanne held Zelgius tighter. Raygo was ripped away from them, flames licked at her legs, Serena was gone. Zelgius pulled her out from the rock, away from the fire. The screams got louder. Louder. Impossibly louder. Heat and the stink of burned flesh, burned trees, burned grass, and burned wings. And screaming. Shrieking.   
Rayanne gasped when she woke up, sweating, crying, half screaming. Mist turned a bit in her sleep. The hawk was careful not to wake her up as she stumbled out of her tent into the cold Daien air. She wrapped her arms and wings around her body, and walked towards the little fire. Shinon turned to look at her, a bit worried.   
“Shift or go back in. You’ll die in this cold.”  
Rayanne didn’t say anything. She liked cold. Despised heat.   
“You’re worried…”  
“Like hell I am. You’re half naked, sweating, and it’s freezing outside.”  
“I didn’t know you actually cared.”  
The other men around the fire looked at her with weird eyes, and shifted uneasily. They weren’t really used to the hawk’s presence, and didn’t know whether they could trust her or not. Rayanne shifted suddenly, and a few men caught their weapons. Neither Shinon nor Rayanne bothered to look at them. The hawk flew away to the nearby forest, and landed on a tree. She’d have to spend the rest of the night here. There was no way she would get any sleep otherwise. It was the twenty-first “anniversary” of the Serenes Massacre. Those who remembered didn’t sleep that night.  
As she settled herself in a more comfortable position, she let a few memories crawl back in her head. Memories of her mother, of Raygo, of Serena. Of Zelgius. Of Greil and Elena. Of all the people she used to know. She drifted into a sort of trance, not sleeping, but not completely conscious either. The sun of Phoenicis briefly shone in front of her eyes, quickly replaced by the dark, damp ceiling of a boat’s cells, then other suns, from Begnion, Serenes, Daien, Gallia… Smiles also came back to her. Her father’s smile lit up her eyes, then her mother’s, Raygo’s… Zelgius’ smile also… Gawain’s…   
So many things had happened.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ike shouted for the army to get moving, and soon everyone was walking again, towards Nevassa, towards the next fight. Rayanne flew over them, the morning air washing away her exhaustion. Mist had noticed her distress, but knew that asking Rayanne wouldn’t really help. Shinon had talked with her a lot this morning, and he probably would again tonight when they set the camp. Mist briefly wondered what they talked about, but when Ike poked her head to get her attention, she quickly forgot her questions. The walk of the army was not stopped during the whole morning, or during the lunch. It was a bit after their break that an emissary came to announce the Begnion army’s imminent arrival. Ike was rather releived, Soren looked very pissed, and Elincia was more than happy.   
When the soldiers arrived, Ike moved to greet the General of the Army, Zelgius. Rayanne stood a little away from them, looking at him with intently. Soren noticed her, and she quickly left, Shinon close behind her.   
The nest time Soren saw her, she was talking to a fly that had landed on her finger.   
“No one can know, little fly. You promise, right? No one will know that- Soren?”  
“Hello. Might I ask what no one should know?”  
“Do you think that I would tell you, dear?”  
“Do not, ever, call me that.”  
Rayanne laughed and sent the fly away. She stood up and walked away, still laughing, with a discordant and twisted laugher that sounded like the screeching of a cat. Soren sighed and left off, back to the camp. Crazy woman…   
After a few minutes of walking, Rayanne took off. Naesala was waiting for her, a few miles away. She landed without a word, looked at him, and hugged him tightly.  
“’Been waiting for a while, Ray.”  
“When will he come out next?”  
Naesala held her tighter and sighed.  
“After the fight for Nevassa. He’ll come to get you, he wants his fight.”  
“Thank you, Nae. And you?”  
“After Nevassa, I’ll be free. Or after Petrine’s death, it depends. But what about you? What will you do?”  
“Probably just stay with Ike. He will need my help in Nevassa.”  
Naesala held her at arm’s length, looked into her eyes. She was tired.  
“You didn’t sleep, right?”  
“Of course not. Did you?”  
“Yes. Leanne is alive.”  
“I know.”  
Rayanne walked away, looked at the coming clouds, turned back to her friend, waved, and flew off. Naesala tried neither to hold her back nor to talk to her. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Rayanne landed in the camp, everything was going on as it usually did. People were setting tents, helping Oscar cook, repairing weapons and armors… When Zelgius’ hand closed around her arm, the hawk jumped slightly, and then let him guide her away from the men.   
When they reached the furthest outskirts of the camp, Zelgius turned his sister around and hugged her tightly. Rayanne remembered the way Naesala had hugged her, and almost cringed away from her brother’s hug. It was too much, too tight, too strong, too hot. And so very filled with lies.   
“I’ve missed you, sister.”  
Rayanne closed her eyes. She wasn’t allowed to feel anything. Zelgius was going to kill her in a few days, she couldn’t fall to the love she had for him. When she opened her eyes, blue strands tickled her lashes. Blue strands that were the exact same color her mother’s had been. She held him tighter, succumbing to her feelings. This was her brother, no matter how she looked at him. No matter how many people he had killed. He was her little Zeke. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ike waved a final goodbye to Zelgius, who stayed in Nevasa to watch over the capital with his army. The Crimean Army kept on marching westward towards Melior, towards Crimea. Rayanne had become more acquainted with Janaff and Ulki since the fight and she was walking with them instead of Shinon, who was off somewhere pissing Rolf off. Or maybe things were the other way around. After a few hours of walk, a weird feeling suddenly invaded Rayanne, as if she was pulled towards her insides, and she became drowsy for a few seconds, completely loosing track of what was going on.   
She woke up on Gatrie’s back, arms tied around his neck. She struggled to free herself, completely lost. Shinon laughed and patted her back, telling her that everything was alright, that Rhys would be done with her soon. The bishop was indeed sitting on Mist’s horse, behind her, healing Rayanne with his staff. He smiled kindly to her.  
“What am I doing on Gatrie’s back?”  
“You fainted”, the man answered.  
“Yeah, you dropped all of a sudden; you were completely out of it!” Janaff added, while strutting next to Shinon.  
Rayanne sighed and sulked in Gatrie’s shoulder, closed her eyes a bit, and tried to catch some rest. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gatrie abruptly bent down and almost sent Rayanne flying as he tried to pick up the bunch of axes a man had dropped. The woman screamed in protest, making Gatrie jump and stand up suddenly, before turning around quickly to see where the damsel in distress was. Rayanne screamed again, holding on tightly to the man’s shoulders.  
“Gatrie, what the hell are you doing?! Stop it!”  
“Hm? Oh Rayanne! Oops, hehe, I forgot you were here…”  
“Untie me goddess damn it! You’ll kill me!”  
Shinon was hurling with laugher as he held his friend a dagger to set the hawk free. Rayanne jumped off the blonde man’s back, shook her hair and fixed it briefly, not very happy at all. She chocked on whatever obscenity she was about to shout at Shinon, and clutched her stomach. The feeling was back. So much stronger than before. Her whole being was being pulled towards her insides, she couldn’t breathe anymore, and fell on the ground, crouching in pain. Shinon screamed something Rayanne didn’t hear, he shook her shoulders, Gatrie ran off, and then everything seemed to… dissipate into thin air. Shinon tried to shake her again, but when his grip tightened, it was around emptiness. A few crimson particles flew around for a while, and then there was nothing left. Rayanne wasn’t there anymore.


	2. Rayanne's past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here goes the start of your smut  
> well, I had a lot of trouble with getting the time right, like the number of years she spent here or there...  
> It's a bit messy....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second one!! Still very story based, the REAL smut comes after (follow chapter names)

The she-hawk gasped, finally able to breathe again. She rolled on her stomach, coughed, held her body with both her arms, and tried to stand up. She saw two feet, two black feet, shining in the bit of light there was, wherever she was. She looked higher up; saw a red cape floating behind a completely black armor.  
“Stand up, sister.”  
“Zelgius… What happened, where are-“  
“Silence. Stand.”  
“But Zeke, I-…”  
“Silence! It does not matter where we are. Stand up. Didn’t Naesala warn you?”  
“What? But Zeke, hold on I-”  
Zelgius grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her up violently. Rayanne struggled to stand properly, the pain from being yanked like that having awakened her partially.  
“Are you awake now, sister? Are you at least capable of holding your sword?”  
“My sword? Zeke, my sword was lost years ago…”  
“I found it. Gawain had it.”  
He tossed the blade towards her, and it sank in the earth with a muted thud. Rayanne turned to look at it. It wasn’t anything as fancy as Alondite, but it was a pretty blade. It was called Ley Red, and she had stolen it in Begnion, so many years ago… Her katana… She grabbed the hilt, and swung it around a bit. She hadn’t held it for years. After a few moments of silence, she looked up to the black helmet, and sighed heavily. Just when she was about to say something, Zelgius swung his sword and hit her right in the stomach with the flat side of the blade. Rayanne tried to recover as he swung his next blow. She rolled to the side, stood up and hit. Right through his leg. Zelgius grunted in pain, but showed no other sign that the wound might affect him. A few seconds after their blades had hit each other, Rayanne was bleeding too. And then Zelgius started pushing her back, out of the forest, towards what looked like a plane. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The wind was a bit chilly, but nothing too bad. Tibarn tried to hurry a bit more. This wasn’t a holyday cruise, for Ashera’s sake. The battle had gone in the Crimean Army’ favor and he was now trying to find Reyson. After he had received the letter, Lotz had been killed and Leanne taken away, by some sort of blade-using human. How the human had gone in and out of the Hall in such little time was beyond the king, though. Something suddenly caught his eye as he blinked, a group of people walking next to a cliff-like hill. The young heron was with them. As well as Ike, and Elincia. And on top of that hill, Daien soldiers with boulders. Good goddess weren’t these hum-beorc people annoying… The soldiers said something dumb about eating rock, but before they even got a chance at touching their big boulders, Tibarn struck them down, sending a couple of heads flying. He quickly turned around to make sure none of them were still alive, and then unshifted and landed. Reyson was very happy, Ike heaved out a big sigh, and Elincia giggled joyfully. That silly girl really didn’t take anything seriously, did she? They all greeted him happily and got ready to move back to the main column, when Ulki heard something and signaled it to Janaff. It was rather faint, but he was sure that that was the sound of someone fighting. He walked towards the sound, followed by Janaff.  
“What is it?”  
“Shh.”  
“Ulki?”  
The sounds amplified. Whoever was fighting out there was getting closer. They appeared out of the woods, far from them, down the hillside.  
“Janaff, who are they?”  
“HOLY-IKE!!!” Janaff shouted. “The Black Knight’s down there!!”  
“WHAT?!”  
Ike rushed next to them, his sword already in his hand. The Black Knight was there, fighting Rayanne. And she wasn’t doing so well. Every move she made sent blood flying around her. The Black Knight was wounded, but it was only a minor cut on his leg. He still had all of his strength, and was moving closer to the hawk’s vital points with every blow. Ike rushed down the hill, but Tibarn was faster than him. He pushed Ike back violently, sending the boy flying, and dived to the Knight, quickly shifting to block a blow. He pushed Rayanne back, but not far enough to prevent the Knight’s blade from reaching her. She fell on her back, dropped her sword, and barely had time to catch her breath. Alondite dove in her stomach, hitting her like it hit Greil, pinning her to the earth. The Black Knight quickly transported himself away, while Tibarn unshifted to pick the dying woman up. Rayanne chocked on her blood, spitting some all over herself and on the Hawk King’s clothes. She was limp in his arms, barely even breathing anymore. Her sight began to blur, and she lost it completely when Tibarn took off. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lukas was sitting on a rock; Yasil was picking up clams next to him. Raygo was swimming with his baby sister Rayanne. He had recently turned 43, and she was only 26, nothing more than a nestling. The sun was setting on Phoenicis, the weather was getting gradually cooler. Yasil stood up and called her children. Raygo picked the feather-less baby up and walked back to his mother. Lukas picked them both in his arms, laughing happily. Raygo quickly freed himself from his father’s grasp and strutted to his clothes. Baby Rayanne grabbed her father’s long blonde hair and pulled vigorously. Her other hand played with the scar on the left side of Lukas’ face, her little fingers grabbing the empty eye-socket. Lukas laughed again and held her to Yasil. Rayanne let go of the blonde hair to grab the short blue hair of her mother, and let her dry her and dress her. Raygo had put his pants back on, and was picking up more clams while Lukas gathered them in a basket. Yasil started heading home, singing a song to her daughter. Things couldn’t be calmer. They should have stayed that way, Rayanne thought. The humans came with their weird ships; they killed her father and took them all, along with other children. The trip to Begnion was long and painful. Getting into slavery was like getting into a cold bath. You never got used to the cold, but at least the pain leaves after a while. A noble had acquired them all together, put Raygo in the field, Rayanne and her mother in the house. Yasil was a beautiful woman. She had green eyes, blue hair, and marvelous dark wings. The noble raped her several times, many in front of Rayanne, and eventually Yasil got pregnant. It was a weird pregnancy, she laid no egg. A baby came out one day, and shortly after, Yasil realized she couldn’t shift anymore. She died a few years later, from despair. She had called the child Zelgius, the name her brother once had. Rayanne raised him with all the love her young little heart could manage to produce. She was now around 90, she didn’t know for sure. One day, a law was passed that forbade slavery. Rayanne and Zelgius were freed, and they were reunited with Raygo. They couldn’t go back to Phoenicis with Zelgius, so they left for the Serenes Forest instead. They met a pretty white woman out there. Her name was Serena, and though she couldn’t stay with them all the time, she gave them a little house under a rock, and cared for them during long years. During their time in Serenes, Raygo became friends with a raven youth called Naesala, destined to become the King of Kilvas. He was very funny, very kind, he gave them food and shiny things, taught them how to hunt, how to escape humans… They spent many years in the Forest, and one day Naesala came back, very scared, and spent the day talking with King Lozarieh. From what Raygo heard, Naesala knew about the human world, and things were getting pretty agitated out there. Humans weren’t happy with the new laws against laguz slavery, and worst of all, the Empress had just been assassinated. Naesala’s father seemed to know a few things about what the Senate of Sienne was planning. They would accuse the Herons, and move the people against them, to kill them all. Two days later, Naesala’s father died, along with all of his children and his wife, his parents, his siblings. Only Naesala was left, and he never came back to the Forest. In less than a week, the human riots reached the Forest and burned it all down. Raygo was hunting when they came, and Rayanne had to flee with Zelgius because the humans where closing in. She flew away with her baby brother. Raygo was probably killed, or captured at best. Rayanne and Zelgius reached the forests of Daien in a few days, and hid there. A man called Gawain found them, took them under his protection, taught them how to fight. He was assigned to guard a heron princess Ashnard had captured, Lillia. The healer that took care of her was called Elena, and she fell in love with Gawain. Lillia died after four years of captivity, Gawain took a new name and fled with Elena a few months later, and Rayanne and Zelgius were left alone in Daien. They hated Gawain for it, but kept on living. Zelgius went back to Begnion, assumed his noble birth, became a general, and met Sephiran, who slowly drove him mad. Rayanne left for Gallia, looking for Gawain and Elena. She had been killed, but “Greil” now had two children, Ike and Mist. Rayanne took care of them with her old mentor. She was now a woman, around 200 years old.


	3. Moar boring smut

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the start of something neeeeew ♫♪~  
> Do you know how hard it is to make this sort of thing not cheesy?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing particular, just a more physical description of Rayanne...

Rayanne had been crushed under all of her memories for what felt like centuries. She didn’t know where she was, but wherever it was, it was warm, bright, and she was lying on something soft… Like grass… She tried to open her eyes, but a hand blocked her. A soft voice rang in the air, it sounded like… Serena…  
“Don’t open your eyes, child… You shouldn’t be here. Your time isn’t over yet… Why are you here?”  
“Serena?”  
“Shhh… wake up… wake up child… Wake up!”  
“Wake up… Come on, you need food…”  
This was a different voice. Deeper. Rayanne opened her eyes, and barely distinguished Rhys’ worried face. There was the scent of soup around her, the faint orange glow of the tent… Rhys bent down on her, whipped the sweat from her forehead, and turned to grab the plate. Rayanne panted, chocked on the air her punctured lungs tried to inhale. The fever was getting higher every day, Rhys was doing all of what he could to save her, but she had to eat something. He tried to feed her, but the hawk didn’t have enough of strength to swallow the soup. She spit it out, chocked again, and Rhys briefly feared that she would drown in it. Tibarn lifted her up and helped her get it all out. He laid her back down, careful not to hurt her wings, and sat back on his chair next to her bed. Rhys sighed and put the soup back on the nightstand. He left the tent after giving Rayanne’s wound another application of vulnerary and a spell. Tibarn picked up the plate and helped Rayanne up.   
“You’re going to have to drink that, you know.”  
The woman answered with more panting and incoherent moans. Tibarn sighed and took a small serving of soup in his mouth, before gently grabbing the hawk’s face and putting his lips on hers to help her swallow the liquid. Rayanne weakly struggled, but the soup went down her throat anyways. She breathed in. The hot liquid felt good in her empty stomach.   
“There you go… Better huh?” Tibarn asked as he took another spoonful.  
Rayanne simply opened her mouth and leaned towards him, hungry for more. The king chuckled and helped her finish the plate. She fell asleep in his arms after that. She was much calmer, and was sweating a bit less. As she drowned in sleep, her talking resumed, and Tibarn lay back on the chair and held her hand tighter. He had been listening to her for the past three days, and had decided that he would take care of her. She was a bit like Reyson, and he wanted to help her get over her past. Maybe if he tried hard enough, he could even find her brother, Raygo. He still didn’t understand why she wouldn’t talk about her other brother, why she never said his name, but maybe he could help her with that, too. Once she healed. He closed his eyes and rested a little, driven to sleep by her voice. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ike sighed and rested his tired weight on Ragnell. The war was over. Ashnard lay dead in front of him, his mount just behind him. They won. Crimea was free, her ruler had returned, all was well. They could start rebuilding and living happily now. It was over. In the court of Melior, soldiers were still fighting, though most of them had surrendered when Ashnard fell. The hawks were done fighting, Tibarn was checking on Rayanne to make sure she was alright (which prodigiously annoyed her) and the others were starting to rejoice. Ike sighed again and stood up straight to walk down and meet his army. He smiled brightly at them all, the bliss of victory over-taking him. Elincia smiled back, a bright smile full of relief and peace.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Melior was still quiet, it was only morning. Everyone was sleeping safe and sound after partying for the whole night. They all had a bed, though only the higher ranked people had a proper room. Ike was sleeping with Mist and Soren, Elincia was in the Royal Chamber, Tibarn in another room, with Reyson and Rayanne. Reyson was sleeping, but Tibarn was still awake, standing at the window. Rayanne yawned and sat up, looked around, and carefully stepped away from Reyson. She walked up to the king and stood next to him, looking at the sun rise.   
“You aren’t sleeping?” she asked silently.  
“No, I just woke up.”   
“You didn’t go to the party?”  
“No. Neither did you.”  
“I was too tired.”  
“You just didn’t want to see me, ” he said with a mocking smile.  
“Oh come on…”  
“And your little plan failed miserably, I slept next to you.”  
“I’ll kill you some day”, she said before giving an annoyed but amused huff.  
Tibarn chuckled softly and turned his head to look at her. Her blonde hair was an absolute mess, the long strands hung around her head, pointing in every direction. She looked adorable. Her sleepy green eyes stared into his, making him smile wider. She pouted and turned around, sending her hair flying in the king’s face. He bent down to kiss her head, wrapped an arm around her waist, and held her tightly against him. Rayanne hissed and pushed him away. She grabbed her clothes and left the room without a word. Tibarn sighed and sulked back against the window sill. Why the hell can’t I behave NORMALLY… Reyson groaned and shifted in the bed. Tibarn looked at him a bit angrily and walked out after grabbing his jacket.   
Rayanne was sitting on a swing in the garden, swinging her legs in the grass, moving the swing slowly. She felt odd. She hated feeling odd. Not being able to define her feelings, to know exactly was what going on in her head, in her mind, in her heart… Sure, Tibarn was very kind, and full of good intentions, and very sweet, very good-looking also… But why did it feel so weird and upsetting when he touched her? They had spent quite a lot of time together… He had healed her, helped her train back to her usual abilities, he had given her so much of his time… But if she ever admitted that she loved him, Rayanne would have to follow him, to leave Zelgius, to leave Daien and the Serenes Forest… She didn’t want to go back to Phoenicis. It would be too much pain, too many memories that would turn the blade deeper in her wounds. Zelgius wasn’t much of an issue anymore, though. He had tried to kill her, after all. Rayanne put her face in her hand, breathed in deeply, and tried to think about something else… But the same image always came to her mind when she tried to empty it. Those yellow eyes she loved so much, the smile, the white teeth, the scars, goddess the scars… His coffee-brown hair flowing around his face, held back by his headband… He was so beautiful… So strong… Rayanne loved every bit of him. His scent, his voice, his way of saying and doing things… She would give up anything to-WHAT THE HECK. Get a hold of yourself, girl. She shook her head angrily, inhaled deeply to calm herself, and immediately recognized the delicious, musky scent of the Hawk King. She tried to convince herself to stay the fuck where she was, but miserably failed to, and flew straight to where the scent came from.   
Tibarn had found a proper place to train, away from everyone, and partially hidden, on a more-or-less flat area. He was so much into his training that he didn’t hear Rayanne landing on a tree above him. He kept on counting his push-ups in his head, desperately trying to forget her. 379, 380, 381… He had only done half of his usual routine, but he was already sweating profusely. It was summer in Crimea, and it was far hotter than in Phoenicis. He passed the 400 mark and kept going, thinking only about his numbers. After a few minutes, though, the only thing his mind was set on was a pair of green eyes, with fluttering eyelashes. He smiled to himself, sighed, and let his thoughts run free. Her hair was golden and wavy, a bit of a mess, floating freely around her face. Her lips were pink, soft, rather thin, but when she smiled, it was the brightest smile on earth. Her general features were thin, delicately traced on her peach colored skin. That didn’t catch his thoughts for long, though. What he liked best about her was the gracious curve of her breasts, of her rear… Her ass was so firm and well formed; he just wanted to squeeze it hard whenever he saw it. And her chest… She had such round and attractive breasts… She wasn’t as chesty as most women in Phoenicis were, but her breasts had such a perfect curve and looked so soft that it didn’t even matter to the king. He kept on doing his push-ups, but his position and his repetitive motion led his minds to much dirtier thoughts about the woman. After a few seconds only, his phantasms about Rayanne were sending blood strumming to his head, they were pounding in his mind, and all of this manifested in a very physical and very obvious way. He grunted and crumpled on the ground, and decided to just lay there and calm down. Though it was impossible (apparently) for beorc to tell when someone was…exited, laguz knew immediately. As soon as someone was a bit horny, everyone knew about it. It wasn’t terrible; you just lived that way, but still. Better not let Rayanne find out that easily.   
Said she-hawk was skulking on her branch, not happy at all to see Tibarn get this badly aroused and not know who caused it. Another whore, probably… Well, anyone who got close to the king was, in her head, a whore. She turned away from his sight a bit harshly, and the branch snapped under her weight and under the brutal movement. She tumbled down the tree and fell unceremoniously and very painfully on the hard ground. Tibarn jumped about five feet high before rushing to her.  
“OH MY GODDESS WHAT THE HELL??!! Where the hell did you come from??!!”  
“Owwwwwww, ahhahaaahahooowwww…”  
He noticed her badly sprained wing and quickly checked her arms and legs to see if anything was broken. Rayanne was starting to cry, her wing had almost doubled in size, and she absolutely needed to be healed now. Tibarn picked her up and flew to the castle as fast as he could, while she clutched his arm in agony, tears freely flowing on her cheeks. The healers didn’t know how to treat wings, so he had to take her to the stables so that one of the pegasi keepers could heal her. He fixed her wing right and used something he had for the pegasi to ease her pain. Rayanne didn’t stop crying, and Tibarn felt absolutely terrible for having to take her to a pegasi keeper. The man was very kind though. He said that he had never imagined wind sprains to be that painful, and that he was now greatly enlightened. The king thanked him quickly and hurried back to the healers, who put Rayanne to sleep and gave her a bed where she could rest. Tibarn stayed by her side for the whole morning, but when the others started to wake up, he had to go and put some more proper clothes on. He had noticed the maids’ immense embarrassment about his bare chest and decided that he should just comply with the beorcs’ ways and dress like a king was supposed to. And his jacket was still out in the woods. Crap.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rayanne had never felt this much pain. The wounds inflicted by Zelgius were nothing compared to this. Cuts, burns and other wounds she could deal with, but never in her whole life had she sprained a wing. The huge amounts of pain kept on rocking in her back, the stupid humans had laid her on her wings and put her to sleep, but no one would turn her on her front. Goddess please, please, make the pain cease, I can’t take this, I can’t, I can’t… The sound of someone opening the door, gasping, and rushing towards her made her jerk slightly and sent even more pain flying through her. Tibarn quickly turned her around and laid her on her front, carefully arranging her wing.   
“Stupid beorc… I’m sorry I left, you must have been in such terrible pain all this time…”  
“Ti-barn… It hurts so much…please make it stop…”  
“I can’t do that, Rayanne… I’m sorry.”  
Rayanne wailed in agony and more tears ran down on her cheeks. Tibarn whipped them off with his fingers, gently touching her face, pushing her hair out of her way. She moved an arm slowly to reach him and let her hand rest on his. He smiled softly and held her hand while leaning in to kiss her forehead. Rayanne sighed gently and smiled a little.   
“If you get hurt every time you go outside I’m going to have to lock you in your room…” he whispered.  
“I wouldn’t mind…”, she joked weakly.  
“You really are feeling bad, huh?”  
Tibarn stroked her face again, smiled when she closed her eyes and leaned into his touch.  
“What were you doing on that branch?”  
“Watching you… I like watching you train.”  
The king chuckled, leaned in closer to her, squatted a bit more comfortably, and kept on whispering to her, his lips almost touching hers.   
“And why did you fall off the branch?”  
“I didn’t-fall off… it broke…” Rayanne winced in pain, more tears streaming down her face. Tibarn whipped them all off and shushed her gently.   
“You are terribly unlucky, aren’t you?”  
“What do you mean? Whenever I get hurt, you’re here to heal me…”  
Tibarn moved his face away from her slightly. He lowered his eyes. He was pained. Rayanne looked at him with concern, wondering what she had said that was wrong, scared by his reaction.  
“But you never want any of that, do you?” he finally asked.  
Rayanne tensed slightly, lowered her eyes too, not knowing what to say.   
“That’s not it. I… I like…being taken care of. But… but, you know… my life… I wasn’t really… I…”  
Tibarn looked at her again. Neither of them said anything for a while. When Rayanne spoke, her voice was close to the edge, it was almost breaking in sobs.   
“I just don’t want to go back to Phoenicis…”  
“That… has nothing to do with my question. I want to know why you reject me.”  
“Because if I accept the fact that… that… that I…” Rayanne took a deep breath. She had to say it. It would feel so much better after.  
“Yes?”  
“Because if I accept the fact that I… love you… I will have to go to Phoenicis with you. I will have to follow you.”  
“Why?”  
“Because I can’t be left behind again. I hate it when the ones I love leave me. I can’t take it anymore than I already have! Everyone leaves me behind, even Z-my brother did, and I just can’t-“  
Tibarn silenced her with a soft kiss. His lips touched hers tenderly, moving gently against hers. Rayanne moaned softly in surprise, before letting her eyes shut and simply savoring the moment. Tibarn’s lips were soft, moving firmly against hers. They took all of her focus out of the pain. Rayanne was only thinking about his hand cupping her face, about his tongue gently pressing on her lips, about her accelerated heart beat… She moved without thinking, trying to wrap her arms around his head, to bring him closer… The pained seared through her. She screamed on Tibarn’s lips, scaring him away. Rayanne bit the pillow, moaning in agony, the simple motion enough to make her wing burn again. Tibarn was a bit at a loss for two second or so, before hurriedly standing up and helping the woman back in a comfortable postion. He apologized silently, while whipping the tears off her face. Rayanne held his hand tightly, crying softly in his palm. The healers returned a few minutes later, and gave her a much stronger treatment.


	4. The mature chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So here's this lemon critics have been raving abouuuut!!  
> ALRIGHT nothing extraordinarily weird.  
> If anyone was waiting for that chapter well... here it is

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh, the only one who's seen this is my bro...  
> Sort of ashamed to put it out there...

Five days later, she was doing well enough to move without any pain, but not enough to fly. Tibarn didn’t even ask if she wanted to go or not. He took her with him to Phoenicis, where he assured her she would get proper healing.   
Her wing was completely healed in a month. Once she had re-practiced her flying, she asked Tibarn if he could come with her to take a little flight around the island. He accepted to come, and they spent a little bit of time every day, flying around and talking. One day, Tibarn couldn’t join her, so she left without him. She flew far out to the South, with a bit of food and stayed there a few days. Her excursions were getting longer every time, but she would always return one day, without warning. The summer was coming to an end when she decided to leave for a few weeks. She promised to be back before the solstice though, because then there would be storms and she might not be able to return to the hall for winter.   
Tibarn stretched in his chair and yawned. It was late in the evening, and he had spent a long, hard day working on fixing different problems. He grunted and stood before going to the main hall, where he found Ulki talking worriedly with Janaff. As soon as they saw him, Ulki went up to him and told him bad hurricanes were on their way to the South, where Rayanne was. Given the fact that she was alone and she probably didn’t know much about hurricanes, they both agreed she was in danger and Tibarn decided to go out and look for her. Ulki and Janaff would stay to manage the king’s business while he was away, as always.  
Tibarn reached the southern mountains in a few days and without too much trouble. The winds were strong though, Ulki had been right. After a few hours looking, he found the place where Rayanne was staying, a humble little cavern under the rocks that she had cushioned with grass. She was gone, however, but she wasn’t far away. Tibarn decided to just stay there and wait for her return. She came back just before dark, with some fresh fish and a few berries. She was very surprised to see him there, but also very happy.  
-“So you’re finally done with your work, huh?”  
-“Yes, and I came to get you.”  
-“Hm? For what?”  
-“To take you back to the Hall.”  
-“But why? I’m doing great out there!”  
-“You are actually, but there are some bad winds coming, the hurricanes.”  
The word sounded somewhat familiar, but Rayanne didn’t quite remember what hurricanes where.  
-“The what, I’m sorry?”  
-“Hurricanes. Storms that sometimes hit the south at the end of summer. Lots of wind, rain, thunder… very bad.”  
-“Oh.” Rayanne was very disappointed, but she understood the risks, so she agreed to leave in the morning with Tibarn, but only if he spent dinner with her.  
-“And where else would I go? I haven’t had much time with you lately, Ray…”  
-“That’s true… Let’s make up for the past week, then! What should I cook?”  
-“Anything, I don’t really care.”  
Rayanne frowned at that. Tibarn took it back quickly and asked for a simple fried fish, which seemed to make her much happier. She did love to cook, and she was rather good at it. After dinner, she cuddled in the king’s arms and they talked for quite a while. When they looked outside of the cavern, the stars where out, and the moon shone brightly in the clear sky.  
-“The storms will come soon, right?”  
-“I guess”, Tibarn answered. He held her tightly against him and kissed her neck lovingly, before gently sucking her skin. Rayanne relaxed in his touch, and briefly closed her eyes. Tibarn continued to kiss her and to rub her sides and her stomach, but by the time his hands reached Rayanne’s breasts, he realized she had fallen asleep. He smiled and kissed her bruised neck, picked her up carefully and laid her down on the grass bed before curling against her. He fell asleep quickly, soothed by her warm presence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rayanne woke him up very early in the morning, screaming and crying and visibly having the worst nightmares one can have. Once Tibarn realized what was happening, he tried to shake her awake, but to no avail. She just kept screaming, even though her eyes where opened. He shouted her name, shook her harder, and then all at once it was over, she just fainted in his arms with a small whine. Tibarn had rarely ever been that scared. Even Reyson never had nightmares like that. He waited a bit for his heart to calm down before trying to wake her up again, much more smoothly this time. Rayanne sobbed softly and slowly opened her eyes. She gasped in relief when she saw him and dragged him to her violently, hiding her face in the crook of his neck.   
-“Tib-arn… Tibarn I-I’m-”  
-“Shhh, it’s alright, it’s over… I’m here Rayanne, it’s over…”  
She cried hysterically for long minutes, until Tibarn’s soft kisses finally calmed her down. She sniffed loudly and hugged him tighter.   
-“What happened to you?”  
-“I-It’s ju-just th-tha-that I-I-h-have a-all th-ese night-m-mares…”  
-“Calm down, Ray, I’m here… Whatever it was, just don’t worry… It’s over now.”  
She nodded weakly and let him rock her gently. Once her breathing was back to normal, she told him everything. In her dream, her half-brother was standing in front of her, talking to her about all their past, and then Raygo came too, looking like he would now if he were still alive. They just talked to her and held their hands out. Behind them, everything was white and green and yellow and warm, and it seemed quiet, like the Serenes Forest. But then Tibarn’s voice would call out to her, and she would turn around to see a dark, cold, blood stained place, with screams and the sounds of whips. He was standing there too, and he wanted her to come to him. On the other side, Raygo and the other (she still refused to speak his name) walked towards her and tried to take her, but Tibarn tried to stop them, and then he drew his sword and lashed at the hawk, while Raygo grabbed her and took her in the light. He kept on cutting through Tibarn’s flesh, the hawk’s screams of pain echoed everywhere, and the rest was drowned in Rayanne’s tears. Tibarn held her gently and shushed her until she stopped crying. She sniffed and sobbed for a while, until she was definitely done.  
-“I’m sorry…” she whispered.  
-“Don’t be.”  
There was a short silence, Rayanne sniffed again, and Tibarn kissed her forehead.  
-“Since when have you had those dreams, Ray?”  
-“A few days only. But they get more and more scary each time.”  
-“I’m sorry.”  
-“For what?”  
-“Well, I’m probably the cause of those dreams… along with that brother of yours.”  
-“No, you aren’t. He is, and him only. I love you. I want to be with you, and they just-“  
-“Shhh, sh, shshshshhh, shush. None of that will happen, I love you too, and you’ll stay with me in the Hall, and everything will be alright.”  
Rayanne nodded and scooted closer to him. Tibarn held her tight and stroked her face softly with his thumb. She smiled and looked in his eyes. The sun was barely rising outside. Tibarn took a deep breath and started talking much more seriously than before.   
-“Rayanne, I, I would like you to know that, well, I really love you. And those days when you weren’t here, well, they were really painful. I, I think I want you to stay with me, forever. You don’t have too if you don’t want to, but I do, want you to stay with me.   
Rayanne looked up to him and smiled.   
-“Do you mean you want me to… To be your… Your… Mate?”  
-“Yes, I would really like that. If, if you accepted, it would make me, very, very happy.”  
-“Well, I haven’t known you for a very long time, but I do admit that… That I missed you, and that I, love you a whole big lot… I… I do want to be with you, Tibarn.”  
Tibarn smiled brightly and pulled her close to him. When he spoke again, he held her face close to his and he was smiling widely, his eyes shining with all sorts of emotions.  
-“I love you, Rayanne. You make me so happy, and, I, I want to make you happy too, and I CAN, you know. Just let me try… I love you so, so much… I…”  
He didn’t finish his sentence, just crushed his lips against hers, his tongue invading her mouth, while the woman moaned in surprise, and then in pleasure. Rayanne didn’t really get what was going on, but she liked being kissed by Tibarn. She liked it very much. She twisted her tongue with his, moved her lips fiercely against his, and brought her hand to his face. He let his fingers brush slowly up her arm, encouraged by her moves, and fisted them in her hair, kissing her with an aggravated passion. Rayanne could barely breathe; she gasped for air as soon as possible, and returned to kissing Tibarn. He brought her down on the grass, and slowly started grinding his hips to hers, the sudden friction between them causing Rayanne to whine loudly. He groaned in appreciation, and brought his hand down to her hip, his other one replacing the latter in Rayanne’s hair. Tibarn massaged her rear, bringing her body closer to his. Rayanne slipped her other arm under Tibarn’s head and brought his face over hers. She brought his whole body over hers, desperate for his touch, for his presence, for his loving. She gasped, her breath heavy, as labored as his, her hands tightly fisted on his shirt, almost ripping it off his shoulders. Tibarn rubbed his nose against Rayanne’s, a tender, passionate gesture, and then resumed his wild kisses, swelling her lips entirely. His shirt soon came off, and Rayanne took all the time she was given to trace his muscles, to squeeze them, to touch them all, to make sure that he was really here, that he was really strong, strong enough to not get killed by Zelgius. He loved every second of it, feeling her touching him and kissing him felt better than anything he had ever experienced. It made his heart ready to explode and he could have simply held her tight all day long, hell, all LIFE long. His wings quivered in pleasure when Rayanne kissed and sucked gently at his neck, her teeth lightly nibbling his skin. Tibarn brutally pushed his hips between Rayanne’s legs, pressing his body to hers. Rayanne gasped loudly, wrapped her legs around the king, and held him closer to her. The tension was building up extremely fast between the two of them, feeling Tibarn pressed this intimately to her made Rayanne go crazy, and Tibarn only wanted to lay her senseless, his arousal past painful. He locked their lips again, enjoying Rayanne’s every moan, and started tearing her clothes off her. As soon as he had freed her breasts, he moved his hands to grab her flesh, groaning as she whined in ecstasy. Her skin was soft and firm and she seemed to like it so much… Tibarn let his lips trail down her neck, and moved a bit to kiss her breasts. Rayanne whined again, and gave out a loud moan when the king bit her nipple. She twisted her fingers in his hair, moaned again when he started sucking on her sensitive flesh, and arched her body slightly off the grass. She rubbed her body harder against Tibarn’s as he sucked and bit her flesh, his hand teasing her other nipple. Rayanne breathed harder, moans flying out of her lips constantly. Tibarn finished tearing her shirt apart and threw it next to them. He brought their lips back together again, while his hands snaked down to Rayanne’s pants. He briefly played with the trim before pulling them down slowly to her knees. Rayanne blushed deeply and gasped when the king’s hands squeezed her cheeks. He seemed to enjoy it immensely, and his hands squeezed her harder, molding her skin like putty. Rayanne closed her eyes as Tibarn kissed her stomach, her waist and hips, before moving his lips lower… He let go of her ass to finish getting her pants down, and slowly split her legs apart.  
“Wh-what are you-doing?” Rayanne spluttered, her face burning with embarrassment.   
Tibarn simply looked up to her and held her legs apart firmly when she tried to close them. When Rayanne looked into his eyes, she saw fire, burning lust, desire, and so much love. She breathed in deep when he lowered his mouth to her wet skin and threw her head back when his lips touched her. She held her torso up with her elbows, bit her lower lip tightly to prevent herself from screaming, and clenched the grass with her hands. The king brutally slapped her arms and pushed her down, making her scream in surprise. His hand pushed her chest firmly to prevent her from sitting up and he locked her legs apart with his shoulders. Rayanne moaned loudly as worked on her, slipping his tongue all over her skin, enjoying every gasp and every moan he got out of her. After searching her a little, he found her clit and started rolling it with his tongue, increasing her pleasure ten-fold.   
“Tibarn!”   
Rayanne quickly brought her hand to her mouth in an attempt to muffle her embarrassing moans, but Tibarn slapped it away again, and licked her harder to get her to scream his name again.  
“AH! Ti-Ooooh… Mmn… ‘ibaaarn… Ah!”  
Rayanne couldn’t form a coherent word but it didn’t displease Tibarn at all to have her squirm and moan under his touch. After a few more sensual licks, he felt her buck her hips under his touch, and knew she was on the edge of losing it. He grazed her skin with his teeth, sucked and licked her as sensually as he could, while she moaned louder and louder, her hand reached down to fist in his hair, her back arched against the bed.   
“Ah, ah, AH, AAH, ooooh, Tibaaaa… Ah!! Yes… OH YES!! AH!!!”  
She came with a shuddering scream, her hand tightening almost painfully in the king’s hair, but he simply didn’t care. Rayanne was screaming his name, he had brought her to orgasm, and it was every bit as good as he thought it would be. Rayanne whined as she came down, her chest heaving. Tibarn crawled back up to her and gently touched her face and her hair, smiling down to her. He pressed his lips to hers, to her forehead and her cheeks, whispering kind words that she couldn’t really understand. Rayanne sighted softly, opened her eyes, and smiled at Tibarn. The king then kissed her more insistently, and ground his body to hers. Rayanne gasped when she felt him against her, and briefly wondered when he had removed his pants. She moaned at the rush of skin, wrapped her arms around the king’s neck, and let him move her body in any way he saw fit. Tibarn licked her neck gently, and reached down for the woman’s hips. He spread her legs apart and slipped his waist between, pressing his hips against hers. She looked into his eyes, saw the fire burning there, and thought that she was very lucky that a man like Tibarn desired her so much. She tensed up slightly and closed her eyes when the king eased himself into her warm body. Tibarn’s grip on her leg tightened, while he fisted his other hand in the grass next to Rayanne’s head.  
-Rayanne… I-I love you… So much…   
Rayanne felt a little tear form in her eyes. Tibarn wasn’t tearing her apart like some women told her it would happen, but it did hurt. She clenched her hands on Tibarn’s shoulders, holding him closer to her. His hot breath was blowing on her ear, she could hear all of his gasps and low grunts of pleasure as he thrust slowly into her. Their eyes locked again, Tibarn’s yellow orbs burning in Rayanne’s, his breath now in her mouth. Rayanne loved the taste and the smell of it. It was so Tibarn… So perfect… Rayanne gave a little scream when Tibarn pushed harder into her. He whispered an apology and kissed her neck, biting it softly, leaving a very obvious mark on her flesh. He quickened his pace again, but Rayanne tightened her legs around his waist, slowing him down.  
-Tibarn… P-Please, slowly… I want us… to take our time, please…  
-Sorry, Rayanne… You just feel… so good…  
He pushed back into her slowly, kissed her gently but passionately. Rayanne loosened her grip on his waist, and let her legs relax against his. The touch of his skin sent sparks running all along her spine, the rush of his harsh and warm hands on her body made her shiver in pleasure… Rayanne wanted all of this to last forever. They had time after all, didn’t they? Even though Tibarn was pushing a bit harder into her once again, even if his hands were aching to grab her skin and lay her through the ground, they had time. Rayanne ran her hands lightly and slowly on his back, caressing his muscles, playing in his feathers… She smiled when he gave a long, loud moan, and whispered his name. He managed to get his face over hers, and stared into her eyes, his breath blowing on her lips. His eyebrows twitched and he grunted, before closing his eyes and wrapping both his arms around her. Rayanne gasped when he crushed her body against his.  
_”Rayanne…”  
She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his hair.  
_”Tibarn, I… I lo-ve you… Please stay with-me…”  
He held her tighter yet and kissed her neck just where it met her shoulder.   
_”Always, Ray… I-mh-promise… Ah…”  
The same fire that had erupted in her stomach a few minutes earlier started blooming in Rayanne’s stomach, her moans where getting too loud for her to stifle, her body was becoming stiff… She whispered the king’s name, over and over and over again, while he showered her neck with kisses. After a while Tibarn bit down on her neck and Rayanne jerked her hips down on his in surprise, tightening suddenly around him. Tibarn groaned loudly and burst in Rayanne’s body with a desperately muted roar. When she felt him come in her, Rayanne gasped loudly and then everything seemed to explode in her body, all her nerves suddenly tensing up before relaxing completely. Tibarn was still thrusting in her, but she was feeling very little of it. She kept her eyes closed and when she sank back in reality he was lying on top of her, breathing very heavily, his arms still wrapped around her. She hugged him tightly; sighed and moved a little beneath him (she wasn’t getting much air). He rolled off her and rested his head against hers. Rayanne turned around a bit to look at him, and smiled when she saw his eyes peacefully shut, his lips parted, his breathing calming down a bit. He opened his eyes a little and smiled back to her, moved in a more comfortable position and held her close to him. His fingers threaded in her wings and hair, he kissed her forehead… Rayanne reached for one of the disheveled blankets, covering them up. Tibarn finished her work and sighted very, very happily.  
-“ ’love you, Ray.”  
Rayanne smiled and kissed his collarbone.   
-“ ‘love you too…” she looked up to him with a playful smirk and whispered: “Tibby.”  
-“Please don’t… call me that.”  
-“Why not? It’s cute…”  
-“Hmpf.”  
-“Just when we’re together, then. Alright?”  
He smiled at her and gave her an absolutely endearing look.   
_”Alright…”  
He kissed her forehead and sighted, held her, and closed his eyes. Rayanne hummed in pleasure and closed her eyes too, nestling her head in the king’s neck.  
Everything was alright and she was very, very happy.


	5. Plot twist nanana♪♫

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First kid. Zelgius comes back. Huge mess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is actually really awkward, all of that happening over just a few days, but I guess I'm just too lazy to change that...

When they returned to the Hall, at first no one took notice of the marks all over both Rayanne and Tibarn’s necks, but when he took her to his room, many stared in surprise, some women in anger, but most did not care. Their king was respectable, and Rayanne was a very kind woman. And the King’s bed was his own business. After a few days, no one minded anymore, and Rayanne’s life had changed very little. The next two years of her life with Tibarn went by smoothly, and during the spring of the third year, Rayanne got pregnant. Tibarn left the Hall with her, and they found a nice spot in the cliffs where they build their nest. Rayanne laid her egg, while Tibarn fished and collected fruits and nuts for her. A few weeks later, the little chick came out. It was all pink and tiny and covered in thin white hair. They all stayed in the nest for a few days, both hawks patiently waiting for the chick to unshift. One morning, Rayanne was awakened by the weak little crying of a baby. The little boy was hidden under their wings, kept warm by their feathers, and he was visibly very hungry.   
-“Tibarn!! Tibarn wake up!!”   
She had unshifted and was shaking her sleeping mate. She was absolutely overjoyed and after vigorously shaking him, she hurriedly picked the tiny baby up and lifted her shirt to feed him. Tibarn unshifted too, groaned, and froze when he heard the baby’s hungry gulps. Rayanne was looking down at it, smiling widely, her arms securely wrapped around the tiny pink body.   
-“Isn’t he gorgeous?” she whispered.  
Tibarn hesitantly got closer to the baby.  
-“He?”   
Rayanne nodded and looked at the king. She blinked a couple of times, a little tear ran down her cheek, and then she laughed softly. Tibarn chuckled nervously and caressed the baby’s arm with his finger.   
-“So, he’s a boy… What will we call him?”  
-“We said Klauss was nice, right?”  
-“Yes, we did… Klauss.”  
They flew back to the Hall once the baby was asleep. There was a lot of happiness there, and many more months of sweet, quiet life.  
One day though, Ulki came back from a patrol in Daein with what seemed like dire news. Rayanne later learned that there was war there again, and that the Black Knight had reappeared. That part of the story did not shock her. But what was troublesome was that this liberation was becoming more and more widespread, and in Crimea, things weren’t doing quite good either. Two days after Ulki’s return, Tibarn told Rayanne that he was leaving for Gallia to have a talk with Caineghis and Neasala concerning the position laguz would have to take.  
-“Take in what? None of the conflicts are affecting ALL the laguz tribes…”  
-“It is important, though. Crimea IS Gallia’s ally. And I cannot stay out of a fight where Caineghis is involved. And Naesala doesn’t want to be left behind, so-“  
-“Tibarn, that is the worst way of thinking I have ever heard. Do you know what the last war was fought for? The medallion WILL be awoken if you all jump in the fight!”  
-“Well, we have no choice.”  
-“You’re not telling me the truth.”  
-“Alright… Rafiel is alive.”  
Rayanne gasped.  
-“He re-appeared in Daien, and he brought a laguz of another tribe, unheard of. The Wolves.”  
-“But that doesn’t-“  
-“He also knows what has happened in Serenes, who exactly is responsible for this.”  
Rayanne lowered her eyes. She had known for quite a while now.   
-“Well go on then. But please remember… War isn’t going to fix anything, Tibarn. No matter how angry you are, a war of this scale will not be of any use. Please remember that.”  
-“I know, Rayanne. You take care of Klauss, right?”  
-“Of course.”  
They briefly kissed, and Tibarn held her tightly.  
-“I’ll be back soon.”  
-“Goodbye, love.”  
And then Rayanne was alone, for what should have been a few days. After the first week she began to worry a little. After the second week, she was VERY worried. Klauss was doing great and she was able to keep most of her stress away from him. He was very small, a bit too much in fact, but he quickly gained weight. Bringing him up somewhat distracted Rayanne, but she was going absolutely mad with worry. At the beginning of the third week, her nightmares returned. Sharper, and much, much more frightening. When Tibarn finally returned, at the fourth day of the third week, Rayanne jumped in his arms, and didn’t let him go for about five minutes. After that, she stepped away from him, held Klauss up to him for Tibarn to hug him, and asked right up, without waiting:  
-“What happened? What have you done?”  
-“I need to talk to you. Alone. Now.”  
Klauss was taken in charge by Janaff, and Tibarn took Rayanne to their room. He took a deep breath, sat on their bed, and smiled as Rayanne rubbed his shoulders.  
-“It was the Senate.”  
-“Hm…”  
-“They murdered their Empress, blamed the Herons, and had them massacred.”  
Rayanne remained silent, her hands still moving gently on Tibarn’s shoulders.  
-“We sent some emissaries to Sienne, to demand explanations and to talk to Sanaki and Sephiran. Ulki alone came back. The others had been murdered. So we decided to form an Alliance and to go to war. We will declare open war in a few days.”  
-“WHAT? In a few DAYS? But Tibarn, I thought I TOLD YOU WAR WON’T-  
-“Stop shouting!!”  
-“Tibarn, how could you?!”  
-“What would you have me do, dammit!! Sit there now that I can DO something?! I’ve taken responsibility of Reyson and his father, and now of Leanne and Rafiel as well. If I don’t go to war for them, then I could have just let them all die right on!! I DON’T HAVE A CHOICE!!”  
Rayanne lowered her head. She felt very hurt that Tibarn had shouted at her like that, but there was something much more important going on.  
-“But Tibarn, you know how they fight… And Sanaki wouldn’t accept war. They must have something up their sleeves.”  
-“I know, Ray… But so do we. We prepared, during those last years. We have been preparing for a long time.”  
-“Tibarn, if you make a mistake, if something bad happens and that THEY gain the upper hand, they will not hesitate to obliterate us all. You are risking a lot…”  
-“I know, Ray. Please let me kiss you, for now. I’ve missed you.”  
-“Oh, Tibarn, I’ve missed you too…”  
When their lips met it was a mix of many emotions. Tension, desire, longing, happiness, relief… The kiss deepened slowly, Tibarn’s hand was reaching for Rayanne breast, his other hand lifted her dress, and when he was about to push her back on the bed, Klauss’ little cries of hunger raised in the stairs. Tibarn groaned in frustration and pulled back reluctantly. Rayanne sighted with a smile and hurried down stairs. She found Klauss, still crying, in Naesala’s arms.   
-“Neasala? What are you doing here?”  
Rayanne rushed to welcome him and to take Klauss, who was very relieved to be back with his mother. She sat down to feed him and offered the raven king a seat. Naesala sat down next to her and looked at the brown haired baby. Klauss was a tiny baby boy, with a lot of hair that was the same color as his father’s. His eyes were a very light blue, like all babies at his age, but a few specks of yellow were starting to show up, according to Janaff.   
-“How old is he?”  
-“Nine months and two weeks.”  
-“Almost a year, eh? Tibarn must be happy to have a son…”  
-“He would have been happy anyways, right dear?”  
Tibarn was walking towards them, a cup of wine in his left hand. He greeted Naesala and sat by Rayanne with a tired sigh.  
-“Of course I would have been happy.”  
He wrapped and arm around her wings and kissed her head. Naesala looked at them weirdly, a bit sadly in fact and sighed too.   
-“You know Tibarn, I really think this war isn’t a good idea.”  
-“We’ll be fine, Naesala. And as long as you are with us, we will be more then fine.”  
-“You are quite sure of yourself”, Naesala laughed. “Well, I’ll see you around.”  
-“Won’t you stay with us for dinner?” Rayanne offered. “We’d be happy to-“  
-“No, no, I’m afraid not. I’d rather not, in fact. As I said, I’ll see you around.”  
-“Alright, goodbye, Naesala.”  
He left without a word, and as quickly as it was polite for him to. Rayanne kissed Klauss’ head and closed the top of her dress while Tibarn held him. They talked about the baby for a while, and the rest of the day passed by pleasantly enough. Tibarn put Klauss in his little bed next to theirs and went to the bath house with Rayanne, where they both forgot about war and just stayed together for as long as they could. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ike was very happy to see Ranulf again, and to have work again, but all the Mercs also knew that a war of this scale would bring very, very big troubles to the laguz and to the general stability of the land. What worried them all the most was the fact that Tibarn and his men hadn’t arrived yet. The Central army was there, though, which made the plan’s failure painstakingly obvious. Shortly after, when Ike came back from scouting around with Soren and Titania, they found Rayanne talking with Skrimir and Ranulf. Ranulf was sitting next to her, holding a blanket around her, and Skrimir was staring at the floor, his hands clutching his seat.  
-“Ah, Ike, you’re back.” Ranulf’s voice was oddly forced to a casual tone, and he looked like something really bad had just happened.   
-“Ike?”  
Rayanne’s voice, on the other hand was an absolute mess. Her eyes were red, her face was covered with tears, and she was still shaking with sobs.   
-“Rayanne, what are you doing here? What happened?”  
All three of them entered the tent and took seats around the hawk. Skrimir took a careful breath and looked questioningly at Rayanne.   
-“Tell them, please… I-I can’t…”  
The lion’s voice was low when he told Ike, Titania and Soren what had happened in Phoenicis. The Ravens came back, alone, only a day after the Hawks had left. They killed all the men they found, and Naesala took Rayanne’s son, Klauss.   
-“Your son?”, Soren asked. “Why?”  
-“Because he is also Tibarn’s son”, Ranulf answered. “I-I think Naesala took him, to, to bring him to Sienne. To the senators.”  
When he said this Rayanne started crying again. Titania looked at her with worried eyes and went to sit by her, to try to comfort her. Soren kept on coldly asking questions.  
-“Why didn’t you wait in Phoenicis?”  
-“I-I did… But-but they weren’t-coming back… I-thought they-w-would be here…”  
-“I’m sure they will come soon, Rayanne.”  
Titania rubbed her arm a bit awkwardly, and said that she should get Rayanne in bed, to let her rest. Ranulf and Skrimir agreed, so Titania took her in her tent, where Mist and Mia where sleeping already. Rayanne cried a bit more, but she soon fell asleep too, exhausted by the stress and by her long trip. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She was awakened by Ranulf in the morning, and it took a while for her to remember everything that had happened, and to understand why she was sleeping in a tent, with humans, and why Ranulf was shaking her like that. Then she heard a lot of noise outside, wings flapping, men shouting, and people running everywhere.  
-“Come on, Rayanne, get up! They’re here, come on!”  
She stumbled out of the bed and Ranulf took her out of the tent. When she saw all the hawks moving about in the camp, she froze for a while, until one of them saw and alerted the others. They seemed very relieved to see her, and two of them went looking for their king. She heard the questions and the words fuse all around her, but Rayanne couldn’t care less. Tibarn came out of a tent a few meters away from her, and as soon as she heard him call her name she just sprung back to life and ran to him, pushing everyone away from her path. They collided violently, and Tibarn crushed her in his arms.  
-“Tibarn, Tibarn, Tibarn , you’re here, oh goddess, you’re alive… Tibarn…”  
She was crying again, hugging him back as fiercely as he was holding her, and kissed him everywhere her lips could reach him. Once she had calmed down and that he had put her down, he took her face in his hands and asked her where Klauss was.  
-“Ti-barn, it’s… N-Nae-sala… He took-him…”  
He closed his eyes and tried very hard to contain himself. He turned around when he heard Ranulf’s hesitant voice.  
-“I believe that he took your son to Sienne.”  
-“It is the only plausible explanation”, Soren stated. “I don’t know what use that crow would have for a baby.”  
-“Soren! Please, do use a bit of delicacy.” Titania was standing behind him, along with Ike who was happy to see that Tibarn was still alive.   
-“So you all know what happened…”  
-“Yes”, Ranulf said, “Please get some rest, King Tibarn, we will handle everything.”  
Tibarn sighed and thanked him, before going back to his tent with Rayanne. Reyson came just after they got in, and it took a lot of persuasion to keep him away from them. In the evening, Tibarn joined them in the meeting tent, much more himself, and looking far stronger than he had in the morning. The next plan would be used, and with Soren’s tactics they had big chances of winning. And indeed the battle went just as planned. Things were getting better, and the Hawks’ morale was going back up, along with Tibarn’s. Or at least, he made a good job out of pretending that he was back to his former self. Rayanne kept away from the battlefield, and categorically refused to have any sort of contact with the outside of her tent. She barely slept, only continuously worrying about Klauss. After the greatest victory of the Laguz Army, when Tibarn came back to his tent to tell Rayanne about the fight, he found her clutching a letter, crying again.   
-“Rayane? What is this? What happened?”  
She simply handed him the rolled paper, and went to cry in his arms. As he progressed through the letter, his grip on her arm tightened. He was barely breathing anymore. The senators’ words were simple: the Hawks pull out of the war, or Klauss “will face a death worthy of his rank.” Tibarn stood up and told Rayanne to wait for him there, that he will be back shortly. He left to get Soren, Ike, Ranulf and Skrimir, and showed them the letter. While they read it and realized what they were dealing with, Rayanne tried to clear her head and calm down. How could Naesala have done this to her? Even for all the money in the world, surely he wouldn’t have done this… He did sell Reyson to the fat human noble, but had clearly intended to get him out right after… Was he going to rescue Klauss as well? She was still thinking about it when familiar red lights shone around the tent.  
-“No! No not now!”  
-“I’ve missed you too, sister.”  
The black armor shone dimly in the tent, the wide gashes that Ike’s sword left very visible. His cape settled down behind him, and revealed his drawn sword.  
-“I know what the crow did to you, Rayanne.”  
-“Don’t talk as if you were better than him.”  
He completely ignored her remark and kept talking, his voice low.  
-“I came to give you another choice. You will have another way to save your son.”  
He paused shortly, and let Rayanne understand what he was saying.   
-“I will go there and save him, but if I do that, you will come with me, and stay with me.”  
-“But I can’t, you idiot! You fight for B-“  
-“For Daien. You will follow the Black Knight.”  
-“He isn’t my brother!”  
-“But he can save your child and your husband’s honor.”  
Rayanne looked down and took a deep breath, carefully weighing her words.  
-“If, if I come with you… Where will Klauss go?”  
-“Either with you, either with his father.”  
She remained silent, knowing that this was the best way, but afraid to leave Tibarn.  
-“And what will happen to me?”   
-“The same thing that will happen to me, and I don’t know what that is.”  
-“Very well, then, I’ll come, with you. Please, promise me you’ll save him…”  
-“I swear I will.”  
-“Alright… Can I say goodbye? Please?”  
-“No. Here’s some powder. I’ll wait for you in Nevassa.”  
And then he was gone, and nothing was left for Rayanne but the little amount of powder Zelgius had given her. She hurriedly wrote in the dirt of the tent and plucked one of her feathers in the earth. As soon as she was done, she checked if no one if around, and sprinkled the powder down. Her insides pulled together, and she held her breath while the terrible feeling surged through her. She landed in a wide, dark and empty room. Zelgius held his hand out for her to grab, and he dragged her to a window-less room in which he locked her. He vanished again and reappeared shortly after with Klauss. The poor baby was staring everywhere with wide eyes; he was struggling for breath, and seemed absolutely terrified. Rayanne reached out for him and he cooed with relief when he saw his mother. Rayanne fed him and kissed him, checked to see if he was injured, and held him tightly against her. Zelgius had removed his helm and was looking at the child. Rayanne turned Klauss’ head towards Zelgius and spoke to him softly.  
-“This is your uncle, Zelgius. He is going to take you to your father, and you are going to stay there. Alright?”  
Zelgius reached to take the baby and held him carefully. He looked at the feather-less wings, at the thin brown hair, at the big eyes that were striped with blue and yellow pigments… The baby’s ears were tiny, pointy like those of the bird tribes, and he had a small round head, with a small round nose, and small round fists moving around his face. He was looking at Zelgius a bit questioningly, but he didn’t seem worried. The general smirked briefly and reached with one hand to grab his helm. Rayanne slipped one of her feathers in the child’s grip and kissed him quickly. Then Zelgius was gone, and she was alone again, locked up in this empty room, with no other source of light but a little lantern. She sat on the floor and sighed. Klauss was safe, and so was Tibarn. And if Zelgius ever erased her note on the floor, at least Klauss still had her feather. Now all that was left for her to do was wait and see what was going to happen.


	6. Complications continue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I never knew I had THIS much hate for Elincia. I really tried to hide it though...

When Tibarn went back inside the tent, he expected to see Rayanne, either sleeping or waiting for him, but he was absolutely not expecting to see Klauss peacefully asleep on their bed. The boy had been wrapped in the blankets by careful hands, and he was holding a feather tightly in his fist. Tibarn walked towards him, still not really believing what he was seeing, and stopped when he felt something bend under his boot. He realized he had walked over some words and one of Rayanne’s feathers. He quickly stepped away and read the words he hadn’t erased.  
Tibarn, my brother just came in here to tell me that he will rescue Klauss, but that I had to come with him. I will, so take care of Klauss while I’m away. I will return, don’t worry, be strong. I love you, Rayanne.  
He silently cursed himself for stepping on the words, but at least what was left was clear enough. Klauss was here, and Rayanne was not. How and when her brother came in here, he didn’t know, but he hadn’t left any sort of marks behind. Save for how carefully Klauss had been wrapped in the sheets, there was no sign of his passage. Tibarn sat by Klauss, put his hand on the child’s little body, smiling when saw how large his hand was compared to Klauss. With Rayanne gone, though, taking care of him would be quite the challenge. At the very least, they were both safe… A few minutes later, Klauss woke up and whined a little. Tibarn picked him up and hugged him gently, his fingers playing in the baby’s hair. Klauss cooed softly and his little fist opened, letting the feather fall down. Tibarn picked it up quickly and gave it back to the baby.  
-“Don’t drop that, chicklet. It is very, very precious. It’s your mother’s.”  
-“Maaaaa… Aaaheuu!”  
-“Yes, mama, that’s mama’s feather.”  
Klauss smiled and tried to say it again.  
-“Maaaa!”  
-“Ma-ma.”  
This time the baby laughed, his teeth-less little mouth wide-opened and smiling brightly. Tibarn laughed too and repeated it.  
-“Ma-ma.”  
-“Maaa! Maaaa…”  
Tibarn hugged his son with a wide smile, and nestled the little face in his neck. Klauss kept cooing happily, until he fell asleep again. Tibarn undressed and went to bed with his son, carefully holding him against his head. The baby’s presence partially made up for Rayanne’s, and the king soon fell asleep. Tomorrow, he would have to explain what had happened to Skrimir and the others, and he was going to ask Ulki and Janaff to help him find out who this brother was. And he would be dammed if he never got Rayanne back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tibarn gave Elincia a very dark look as she desperately tried to get the baby to say her name. She had been taking great care of him, but Tibarn hated the fact that she was taking Rayanne’s place. All those days should have belonged to her, not to Elincia. Lucia noticed the king’s stare, and went to her Queen to convince her to return the child to his father. Suddenly, Tibarn felt much more sympathy for the blue-haired woman, and he tried to act surprised when she brought him his child. Klauss gave a loud “baaa” once he was with his father and swung his little fists around happily. Tibarn held him closer and whispered “mama”. Klauss laughed and repeated “mama!”. Then Tibarn stood up and took him back to their room. On the way, he crossed Sanaki’s path and stopped with a grunt when she called him.  
-“King Tibarn, I haven’t had the change to apologize yet.”  
-“Please don’t bother trying, Empress.”  
-“This wasn’t my doing. I have been abducted too.”  
-“Do you think I care? Whether your senate turned against you or not is not going to bring my wife back.”  
Sanaki sighed, a bit unnerved at the Hawk’s roughness. Behind her, Tanith tightened her hand around her lance. Tibarn looked at her angrily and held Klauss closer to him.   
-“Tanith, stand down. I simply wished to express my condolence. Let us go, Tanith.”  
Tibarn looked away from her and continued his way to his room. They would soon cross the bridge to Daien, and progress towards Begnion. Hopefully they wouldn’t run across too many Daein soldiers. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Ike ran outside of the fort, everything was dead silent. Snow was falling softly, coating the soldiers with white. They weren’t moving anymore. When Ike walked closer to some of them, he noticed that they were not moving, not even breathing, just grey like stone and as cold and hard as one. When he called for someone, anyone, he faintly heard little cries come from the laguz camp, and immediately after he heard them, Tibarn bolted past him and took off towards them. While Ike kept on trying to understand what had happened, the others came out slowly and searched for survivors. They were many, but there still was no way to explain or understand what had happened. Tibarn returned shortly after, holding a terrified Klauss in his arms. The baby was crying hysterically, his little hands clutching Tibarn’s hair and jacket. The king was shushing him softly, his hands securely covering his son’s body. They all turned around when they heard Micaiah’s voice and Sothe’s worried questions. After Yune had presented herself and explained the situation, they spent a while trying to process the news. Then she noticed the baby in Tibarn’s arms and walked towards him. As she tried to touch him, Tibarn’s hand snapped and caught hers.  
-“Do not touch him,” he groaned.  
-“I want to see if he’s alive.”  
-“He is. Step away now.”  
-“How can you talk to me like that? I am a god! Let me touch that thing!!”  
-“God or not, you will not touch him.”  
-“He is nothing but a sack of meat. A small, whining sack of meat. Why make such a big deal about-”  
-“He is MY SON!”  
When things were about to go very awry between them, Ike stepped in and stopped Yune from saying anything else, which very much annoyed her, until Mist asked her too. She didn’t let go of her interest for the baby, though, but Tibarn categorically refused to let her approach Klauss. They soon organized themselves and decided to trust Yune. They would head out to Sienne, divided in three teams. As they were about to part, Ranulf dragged Ike away from the others and told him about the Black Knight’s identity.  
-“General Zelgius? Are you sure?”  
-“Absolutely. I fought them both. They fight the same, and they smell the same as well. Branded. Very strong.”  
Ike lowered his head and scratched his hair.  
-“I don’t believe it… He fought with me in Daien… He shook my hand! And he had just killed my father! I-I don’t…”  
-“Don’t worry, Ike. I’m sure he’ll be in Sienne. Come, for now, and good luck!”  
All the teams left quickly, and others where met along the way. Elincia was still trying to make Klauss say her name, and Klauss was still laughing happily when his father made him say “mama”. Stefan joined Micaiah’s party, and so did the Black Knight, but either Ike or Ranulf were there to see him. Tibarn reached Sienne with Caineghis, and after that the other teams came too, and once they had set camp, those who felt willing and ready to go came in the Tower. The others stayed behind and waited (and Tibarn reluctantly left Klauss in Elincia’s care).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rayanne groaned and rolled on her front, trying to get in a more comfortable position. She wasn’t in the room in Nevassa anymore, and she wasn’t alone either. In front of her, a tall black haired-man finished casting some sort of spell. She sat up with some difficulties, and he turned around to help her get up. She took his hand and stood to look around. The room was wide, and very strange. A weird light was shining around them, and a stronger light was coming from the huge door in front of them. Three bars stood across the doors, all shining strongly too. One of them green, the other yellow, and the third one white.  
-“What is this place? Who are you?”  
-“My name is Sephiran, and you currently are in Sienne, in the Tower of Guidance. This door right here, it leads to the Goddess Ashera.”  
-“But, but that’s-why am I here?!”  
-“Well, your brother Zelgius brought you here.”  
-“Zelgius? What-why??”  
-“The only thing you need to know is that this door was just sealed by my magic and using our three lives. Zelgius’ is the green bar, yours is the yellow, and mine is white. Only our deaths could unlock this door.”  
-“And… why would anyone try to open that door? I mean, it does lead to-“  
-“I said that that was all you need to know.”  
-“But you just told me my life was-“  
-“As you said, why should anyone try to open this door?”  
Rayanne decided to stop asking and just took a look around. There was a way down some stairs, and when she walked towards it, Sephiran spoke again.  
-“Down these stairs you will find first the king of dragons, then your brother, then the senators. I doubt you will be able to face all of these foes.”  
-“What are they all-“  
-“I will not answer.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ike plunged his sword deep in the armor’s gash and cringed when he heard the metal of his sword cut through Zelgius’ flesh and crush some of his ribs. The general gave a chocked gasp and spluttered some of his blood out. He fell back, the sword came out from his body and Ike let it drop to the ground. Zelgius fell down, and then the barrier was gone, and Rhys ran to heal Ike. Ike fell down too and crawled next to Zelgius’ dying body. The general was trying to say something, and after a few tries he finally got the words out.  
-“I want… talk… Hawk King…”  
-“Tibarn!” Ike called, “he wants to talk to you…”  
The king got closer to the dying man and squatted next to him. Zelgius smiled and started speaking.  
-“I’m her brother… Rayanne’s… brother…”  
Tibarn froze and bent down closer to Zelgius to hear his words.  
-“I… saved your son… But you know… In the end… She will… come with me… She can’t leave… me anymore… You’ll see…”  
After that he turned to Ike and spoke his last words of gratitude. Then he sighed, laughed softly, and it was over. Ike heaved a long, trembling sigh. It was over, his father was avenged, and he had won the greatest duel of his life. Tibarn wasn’t so happy. He was still processing what Zelgius had said. A few stories up in the tower, Rayanne and Sephiran watched as the green bar was destroyed. Rayanne held her breath when she turned to Sephiran, and he sadly smiled at her.  
-“No, no… Not Zeke, no… no!”  
She ran away from the door and from Sephiran. She was terrified, struck by her brother’s death, and she still couldn’t understand what was going on, what was coming up the stairs, why, and whether or not they would try to open the door. Sephiran was oddly calm, looking at his bar with what seemed like hopeful eyes. His calm horrified Rayanne. She wanted to be back in the Hall, back in Tibarn’s arms, with Klauss… She didn’t want to die here. Alone, away from her loved ones… She finally had a family again, and she didn’t want to lose it.


	7. LAST ONE hooray

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SO I finally gathered the guts to put this story on the web, well, wow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longest one, but come one, it's the last one.

-“Sephiran?”  
Sanaki’s hesitant voice rang in the room. Sephiran turned around and looked at her with a kind smile. Sanaki smiled back, and walked towards him.   
-“Why are you here? Have you heard of what’s happening?”  
-“Of course child…”  
Yune then talked too.  
-“Sephiran… How is this possible…”  
-“Ah, Goddess Yune, I haven’t seen you in quite a while.”  
Sanaki looked up to him with questioning eyes.   
-“Yes, it has been a long time. Pray tell, what are you doing here?”  
-“I was waiting for all of you. I suppose you are trying to get to the Goddess Ashera.”  
When she heard that, Rayanne gasped and stepped further back in the shadows. She couldn’t clearly hear what they were saying, and she still didn’t know why they wanted to go through. She carefully got closer and listened, hidden behind a pillar.   
-“So you were the one behind all of that, huh?”  
-“Yes Ike, it was me. What will you do now?”  
-“Kill you. I need no further proof of you madness.”  
-“And about the third lock? Will you kill that person too?”  
-“Yes. We must get to the Goddess and save the continent. No matter what.”  
-“Sephiran, is there really no other way?”  
-“None, Sanaki. Just think that all you ever knew about me was a lie. Feel the anger rise, and kill me.”  
-“Ike, we have to hurry,” Yune said. “Just kill him, it’s something he’s desperately wanted for all those years. All of what happened was just a terrifying side effect. Then we will find the last one, kill them, and go through. Or Ashera will make her second move, and it will all be over.”  
Rayanne was having a hard time breathing normally, and she remained hidden through the whole fight. It wasn’t long. She tried to recognize all the people that were here, but could only make out Ike’s voice, Sanaki’s, Skrimir’s, and Naesala’s. When she heard galdr, she presumed it to be Leanne’s, and she also guessed that some of the Mercenaries were there. When the battle was coming to an end, she heard a loud shriek, a very familiar one, and she almost ran out if hiding to go to him. But then something else struck her. She was the last thing blocking their way to saving everyone.  
She heard silence after a very loud blow, and soon, Sanaki’s crying filled the room. The lock dissolved loudly and then Yune called everyone.  
-“We have to find him quickly, time is short! Look everywhere in this room!”  
Rayanne took a very deep breath and came out from hiding. She felt like fainting.  
-“It’s me,” she crooked. “I’m the… last person…”  
-“Rayanne!!”  
Tibarn ran up to her and crushed her in his arms, just as Rayanne’s legs failed her.  
-“Oh thank heaven, you’re alive… What are you doing here?”  
-“D-did you not-hear me? I’m-I am the-last person…”  
-“The last person for what?”  
-“Who are you?”  
Yune was walking closer to them, and she quickly recognized the woman’s features. She was the baby’s mother.   
-“Why are you a part of the lock?”  
-“I don’t know,” Rayanne whined, “Sephiran didn’t explain anything! I was just brought here, probably by my brother, and-“  
-“Why didn’t you tell me that Zelgius was your brother?”  
-“I-“  
-“I hope that you understand, Hawk King, that we will have to kill this woman to move on. And that we must do it quickly.”  
-“If you plan on killing her, then you are going to have to kill me first.”  
Naesala turned his head and walked away from the scene. He felt sick with guilt. If he hadn’t taken Klauss, Rayanne wouldn’t be here right now, and her life wouldn’t be threatened. And neither would Tibarn’s.  
-“I will kill you too, if that’s’ what you want, but for now we need you to fight. I don’t-“  
-“Wait!” Ike finally stepped in, his sword drawn out. “We aren’t killing Tibarn, and we are not killing Rayanne either. You didn’t purposively bind your soul to that door, did you?”  
-“Of course not, I-“  
-“That doesn’t matter!” Sanaki shouted. “I lost Sephiran for this, can’t you make a little sacrifice as well, King Tibarn?”  
-“Rayanne is my mate, child! Not a lying mentor!”  
-“I am not a child!! And she must die! There is no other way!”  
-“SILENCE!”  
Yune looked very angry when she spoke.  
-“For Sephiran there was no other way, but for Rayanne there might be. She did not purposively tie her soul to the lock. Step away, Hawk King, I can try something, but I need time.”  
-“I am not going anywhere.”  
-“Then I will let Sanaki kill her.”  
Tibarn tightened her grab on his mate’s arm, before moving away slightly. Yune nodded and closed her eyes.  
-“I will judge her, so that she will no longer live, but be a stone, like the others. Then if we win against Ashera, she will come back.”  
Sanaki snarled and stared at the terrified she-hawk with enraged eyes. Yune focused and started casting her judgment, while Tibarn and all the others watched and waited. After a while, when the spell was about to take effect, Sanaki lost control of her anger and casted a Cymbeline at Rayanne. Everything happened very quickly. Tibarn jumped to get Rayanne out of the way, Yune’s spell hit the woman, and Ike hurled himself at Sanaki to stop her. Then Naesala dived in the flames and pulled a much damaged Tibarn out. While Rhys was rushing to heal him, the flames dissipated and revealed Rayanne’s crouching form. Yune sighed in relief when she saw that the woman was hard and grey, completely stupefied. Tibarn was moaning in pain, all of his body covered in burns, his wings half-destroyed by the flames. Naesala was holding him up while Rhys used his most powerful healing spell. Ike was still holding Sanaki, and the others were looking at Rayanne, at Tibarn, or at Sanaki. Once the King was healed properly enough to stand and once his pain had ceased, they all looked at the door. The lock was still there, shining just as brightly as it had before.   
-“I told you we should have just killed her!” Sanaki screamed.  
Tibarn looked at her with murder in his eyes, and Yune was very thankful that Naesala was holding him. Ike dropped the Empress to the ground and walked towards the door.   
-“I was here to kill a goddess, not to be blocked in a room by a death-obsessed man and to have to kill Rayanne to go through!”  
He swung Ragnell behind his shoulder, charged its magic with as much strength as he could put in it, and hurled it on the lock. The blow was extremely powerful and loud. For a few seconds the lock didn’t bulge, and everybody held their breaths. Then it winced, and shattered in the air. After that the door opened, and Ike looked back questioningly at the others. Yune nodded, and they all moved towards the door. Yune was the last one to go through, and she turned around to look back at Sephiran’s corpse and at Rayanne’s solid figure. She sighed heavily and went on. She knew very well that the blow Ike had dealt to the lock had destroyed Rayanne’s soul and killed her, but she decided not to say anything. Ashera was the top priority, not this woman. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Yune flew away after agreeing with Ike that it was best for her to leave, Tibarn hurried back to the room where Rayanne still laid. He knelt by her and waited for something to happen, and when finally the rock dissolved to let her body show, he sighed in relief and grabbed her body. He didn’t immediately realize how cold she was, or that she wasn’t breathing. He turned her towards him, and shook her gently.   
-“Rayanne? Rayanne wake up, it’s over… You are safe now…”  
When he put his hand against her cheek, he frowned and bent down to check her breathing. He kept his ear at her mouth for a long time, desperately trying to find a sign that she was breathing, but nothing came out. He frantically looked for her pulse, but there was nothing. Her empty eyes were staring into space, dead.   
-“No… No, come on, you can’t die now…”  
Ike came out in the room with Micaiah and Sothe, quickly followed by the rest of the group. He called out to Tibarn, probably asking if Rayanne was alright, but the king didn’t hear anything.   
-“Please, please… Come one, wake up!”  
Micaiah gasped and held Ike back. She tried to find her words for a while before finally getting them out.  
-“She’s dead…”  
It was nothing more than a whisper, but Ike heard it perfectly. He saw Tibarn holding the lifeless body up, and he remembered Zelgius’ words. In the end, she will come with me. She can’t leave me anymore. You’ll see. Tibarn was shouting now, calling her name, shaking her… Ike remembered his own despair when he held his father’s dying body, but he knew that Tibarn was going through much worse than that. When his mother had died, Ike’s father spent nearly a week by her grave, and when he came back the tears had created gashes in his skin, worse than scars. Seeing Tibarn’s despair just reminded him of his father’s, and he wished with all his soul that none of this had ever happened. Micaiah stepped forwards and carefully knelt next to the woman’s body. Tibarn looked up to her but he didn’t even try to push her away. His tears were falling silently on Rayanne’s face, and he was muttering incomprehensible words against her cold hand. He looked down to her and didn’t look up when light shot out of Micaiah’s hands, nor when she applied her hands to Rayanne’s body. Light and warmth ran from Micaiah to the hawk’s body, slowly restoring her life. Sothe ran up to the Branded girl and tried to stop her, but Micaiah resisted. It was Yune’s fault that Rayanne was dead, so she had to restore things. Micaiah poured more of her life in the hawk’s body, until finally she felt her heart beat loudly. Rayanne’s lungs filled with air, she gasped and struggled to breathe normally. Micaiah fainted in Sothe’s arms, and Rayanne kept coughing, her breath raspy and painful. It took Tibarn a very long time to realize that Rayanne was breathing, and that she needed help to sit up and calm down. He hesitantly helped her up, and only became sure of his movements once she grabbed him to hold herself up. Since all the others had left to leave Tibarn with his grief, no one was there to help Micaiah. Sothe quickly took her away to give her the help she needed. Tibarn stayed behind, alone with Rayanne. She coughed a bit more, and then looked up to him.  
-“T-ibarn? Is it really you?”  
-“Rayanne how… You were dead… Why are you…”  
-“I don’t know…” Rayanne started crying again, but they were happy tears, full of relief.  
Tibarn was smiling at her, and she smiled too and cried some more, and hugged him. Her colors were slowly returning, her cheeks reddened slightly, her hands heated up, her lips went from a cold purple to their usual pink color, and she was acting more and more like herself now. She brought her face up to Tibarn’s and kissed him. It took the king a bit of time to react, but he quickly caught on to what was happening. It was a very rushed and very happy kiss, full of gasps, hands grabbing the other’s skin… Rayanne slipped her hands under Tibarn’s jacket, feeling his warm skin with her cold fingers. The king crushed her in his arms and let her take his jacket off, his own hands already moving to undo her belt. Outside of the tower, light and warmth came back to the land, and the frozen people started coming to life again. The war against the Goddess and against Begnion had been won, and though many had fallen, the ones that remained were stronger and ready to make this land a better place. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tibarn came out of the tower a few hours later, carrying Rayanne in his arms. As soon as she heard Klauss’ little chirping, Rayanne sprung from her mate’s arms and ran to the baby. Klauss was clapping his hands and shouting with enthusiasm when his mother reached him. Tibarn embraced them both, and kissed the child’s head. Klauss started chanting the only word he knew, “ma-ma-ma-ma-ma”, and they all laughed at that. Ike was also very happy to see Rayanne, and so where Mist and Titania. Sothe and Micaiah had come out long before Tibarn and Rayanne had, and Sothe had reassured everybody about the she-hawk’s condition. Things were really alright now, and everyone was happy. Well, most people were anyways. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naesala was sitting as far from the camp as he could be, his head in his hands, trying very hard not to cry. He had left as soon as possible. There was no way he could have found the strength to watch Tibarn crying in front of his friend’s corpse, knowing that he had caused her death. And now he would have to watch as Tibarn either let himself die slowly, or at best became as cold as Deghinsea had been. And then there was Klauss. He had just turned one year old, and he was in for the worse suffering a child can feel. All of that, because of him. He had taken everything from Tibarn and now he had to watch. And Leanne, what would she think… She still loved him after he had betrayed Tibarn, but now that he had caused Rayanne’s death, would she ever accept to be with him? He felt little tears form in his eyes and blinked furiously to hold them back.   
-“Naesala!”  
The raven cringed when he heard Rayanne’s voice. It was nothing but the wind, but it sounded so much like hers… He was going to miss her a lot. He took a deep breath when the voice echoed again, much louder.  
-“Naesala!!”  
This time he turned around. His eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw her.  
-“Naesala, there you are! I thought I was never going to find you!”  
-“Rayanne? You, how, what, but Ike, I…”  
Rayanne ran into him, knocked his breath out, and hugged him tightly. He stayed completely still for a while, before pulling her back and looking at her right the eyes.  
-“Naesala… You’re crying?”  
-“No I’m not fucking-crying… How can you-hug me? I-I… Ray I’m-“  
-“Stop stop stop, I don’t want to hear that yet. Just hug me, I’m alive, and it’s over, right? You destroyed the blood pact, right? And you didn’t mean for any of that to happen, right?”  
-“Yes, yes, and-no. Ray I-I can’t… Oh goddess…”  
He buried his face in her hair and hugged her tightly. He cried softly in her neck, more than relieved that she was alive. When he heard the heavy landing behind her, his face snatched up and he immediately regretted losing his control. Tibarn was looking at him with an un-readable expression. Naesala pushed Rayanne away from himself and looked back at the Hawk King. Tibarn sighed. Klauss was in his arms, holding his tiny hands out towards his mother.  
-“Maaa! Ma!”  
His little voice rang in the silent air, and Rayanne went to take him. He nestled his little body in his mother’s breasts and waited for the tension to ease.  
-“Naesala, I know about the blood pact, it wasn’t your fault-“  
-“Shut up Rayanne. You know it was my fault.”  
Rayanne sighed and walked closer to Tibarn.   
-“We will go back to the others now. I wish to talk with you later, Naesala. Please don’t do anything… irrational.”  
After saying this, Tibarn dragged Rayanne back to the camp, where everyone was rejoicing.   
Peace had come at last, and this time it was here to last. All the rulers met again numerous times during the next years, and everyone was very sad to say goodbye to Ike. Soren left with him, and Mist stayed behind with Boyd and an expected child. Naesala was able to mate with Leanne, and very shortly after that, a little Heron girl was born, and she brought much joy to her grandfather. Tibarn took Naesala’s place as king of the bird tribes, and the birds were able to establish themselves in both the Southern islands and the Serenes Forest. The Hall remained in Phoenicis, were Tibarn established with Rayanne and their evermore numerous children.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Many, many years later, Tibarn was sitting on a rock, holding a tiny little baby against him. The child was the youngest of the flock, the 20th he had with Rayanne, Marc. Rayanne was picking up clams next to him, with Tyson, Cris and Raygo. Klauss was swimming with his baby sisters, Alia and Juny. A bit further behind them, Zelgius and Lukas were making a huge sand castle while Hiram was running after Kamia and Yasil. Ulki was teaching Demezi, Dane, Freya and Eirik a song, and Janaff was napping on the sand with the triplets (Ross, Yune, and Topuc), and Joshua. The sun was setting on Phoenicis, and the weather was getting gradually cooler. Rayanne stood up and called her children. They all gathered around their parents, each of them leaving their activities one at a time. Tibarn hopped off the rock and went to hug his mate. All the children were being incredibly loud, jumping on and around them. Tibarn gave Rayanne the little chick and bent down to let the others climb on his back. Klauss picked up a few of them too, and smiled proudly at his father. Ulki and Janaff were carrying those that hadn’t woken up, and the whole group headed back to the Hall slowly. Rayanne stayed behind a little with Marc, gently rocking him. After a few minutes, she heard Tibarn call out to her, turned around, and started heading home, singing a song to her son.   
Things couldn’t be better.


End file.
